In the Wenyuan Pavilion of the Forbidden City in Nanjing, Hou Xuanyan talked eloquently in front of three scholars. The experience of Yangzhou was told one by one.

Even if they knew about this for a long time, the three scholars were still angry, and even if they collaborated with the enemy, they did not provide them with firearms and food, which was simply a crime that could not be punished.

The salt merchants of Lianghuai were originally one, and many of them were good families, so it is no wonder that the merchants of Yangzhou were able to get in touch with the Qing soldiers in Huai'an Mansion.

Hou Xuan played the blessing to his heart, and suddenly asked: "Fujian's mountainous areas are barren, and they have never been a place with high grain and rice production, so Zheng Zhilong has many soldiers and horses, where does his grain come from?" ”

Zhang Huangyan coughed lightly, his face was slightly red, and he said stupidly: "Guogong, I have heard a little about Fujian, and it should not be our food." ”

It's no wonder that Hou Xuan is suspicious, his territory is all the land of fish and rice, and when he comes out of Yangzhou, he looks at everyone like a thief who steals his own food.

"And what does his big-headed soldier eat?"

Zhang Huangyan was more pragmatic as an official, studied the situation in various places in his early years, and said casually: "During the Wanli period, there was a great drought in central Fujian, the harvest of grains failed, and hunger was everywhere. Chen Zhenlong, a businessman whose ancestors were from Changle County, Fujian, found that there was a local crop that was sweet and delicious and edible, so he secretly purchased its seeds and brought them back to Fuzhou, that is, he tried planting them on the edge of the city. I didn't expect that this thing is not afraid of drought, and it can also be cultivated in the mountains, which is just right for the barren land of Fujian. At that time, Jin Xuezeng, the governor of Fujian, was very happy, so he planted it widely in Fujian Province and named it sweet potato.

At that time, Fujian relied on the crops of this person to survive the great drought, so although the land in Fujian is barren, it knows that there is no shortage of food today. ”

Hou Xuanyan was dumbfounded when he heard this, it turned out that Zheng Zhilong raised so many soldiers, relying on sweet potatoes.

Ma Shiying saw that Hou Xuanyan was very interested, and said busily: "Central Sichuan is also full of famine now, but we can introduce this sweet potato to protect the people of Sichuan and Shu." ”

Chen Mingyu also nodded and said, "Yes, this is a good way." ”

The land of Huguang and Jiangnan is a natural rice farm, and there is no need to promote these alien species at all. Hou Xuanyan pondered for a moment and said: "This matter is easy to say, but it takes some effort to do it. ”

Since this thing is already everywhere in Fujian, it is not possible to get melon seeds, but the difficulty is that in Sichuan, where cows, ghosts, snakes and gods are mixed, it takes superb skill and prestige to get the people to agree to cultivate this new crop.

Zhang Huangyan was eager to try, how could Hou Xuanyan let the cabinet scholars do these things in person. He thought about it and felt that it was more suitable for Gu Yanwu to stay in Yuezhou. There is no war in Xiangyang, and no one from all walks of life is willing to take the lead, and they are all waiting for an opportunity in wait-and-see. Gu Yanwu has been in the Wuchang area of Yuezhou for a long time, with nothing to do, and he trains soldiers and horses every day, so it is better to go to Sichuan to do some practical things.

Hou Xuanyan made up his mind and opened his mouth to say: "Yang Zhan, the governor of Sichuan, Yunwen Yunwu, once ran Jiazhou, and it is the only state and county in Sichuan and Shu that is hungry and healthy. I will appoint Gu Yanwu as the relief envoy again, and this matter will be completed. ”

Zhang Huangyan was slightly disappointed, but Gu Yanwu had a good relationship with him, and he had worked together for a period of time in the battle in Jingxiang. He is still very satisfied with this appointment, and the other two university scholars are even more preferential.

Hou Xuanyan saw that no one objected, and said: "Since everyone has no objections, I will ask Her Royal Highness the Empress." ”

Everyone knows that Hou Xuanyan has to ask the queen for everything, and the queen has never vetoed it. Although it was almost reduced to a formality, this move still won the favor of some ministers.

Walking out of Wenyuan Pavilion, Hou Xuanyan just wanted to get into the carriage and return to the government, but a small chamberlain hid in the corner and ran over to greet him: "Grandpa Guo stays." ”

Hou Xuanyan stopped and asked, "What's the matter?" ”

"The prince invites the prince to meet the grandfather of the country in the Wenhua Hall in front."

Hou Xuanyan doubted: "What's the matter with the prince." Could it be that something has happened in the palace recently? ”

The little chamberlain smiled: "Everything is fine in the palace, I think the prince misses the grandfather of the country." ”

Hou Xuanyan turned to Hu Bawan and said, "In this case, let's go to the Wenhua Palace." ”

In front of the Wenhua Palace, Wang Xiangnian rubbed his hands and paced back and forth. Seeing Hou Xuan coming, he hurried to greet him.

"Guogong, you can come."

Hou Xuanyan hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?" ”

"It's not that anything happened, it's just that our family is always at ease. You say, it's good if Niangniang gives birth to a prince, but if it's a princess, what can we do? Wang Xiangnian said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, and he could see that he was really anxious about Emperor Longwu Zhu Yujian.

Hou Xuanyan didn't know the bottom of his heart, it was just a delaying tactic at the beginning, if he didn't do that, the south would be full of self-reliant vassal kings. Now that Concubine Chen is about to give birth, she will give birth in less than three months. Wang Xiang has been in the palace for a long time, watching Concubine Chen's belly grow bigger day by day, and his heart is both eager and anxious. If it's good to have a prince, everyone will be happy, in case it's a princess, then those clans in the south are ready to move again.

When Zheng Zhilong hit Zhaoqing, he stopped moving forward and let Zhu Youlang continue to be his emperor in Liangguang. Once Concubine Chen gave birth to a princess, he was very likely to use this as a reason to support Zhu Youlang or welcome King Lu.

Hou Xuanyan saw Wang Xiangnian looking at him with a look of hope, obviously this old eunuch was no different from the two mothers, they were both people who had no opinions. It seems that when the time comes, you will have to fight alone, Hou Xuanyan snorted and said, "What's the matter with the princess, it's a big deal for us to help an empress." ”

This matter has obviously exceeded Wang Xiangnian's cognition, how did the woman ascend the throne as the emperor, he asked blankly: "That's okay?" ”

Hou Xuanyan thinks much deeper than him, it doesn't matter if the empress is not the empress, it's just whether he has the ability to sweep away the opponents of this half of the country at that time.

If things reach the worst step, you must also be ready to send troops to annihilate Zheng Zhilong at any time. Of course, it is also necessary to be prepared for the Manchu Qing to take advantage of the chaos to attack and fight on both sides.

Thinking of this, Hou Xuanyan was suddenly full of pride, a husband can't be without power for a day, as long as the soldiers are strong and strong, what can't be done in the world? There are still three months to go, and when the world meets, who is the horn of this troubled world.

Hou Xuanyan smiled, confident, patted Wang Xiangnian's shoulder and said, "Old Wang, I can tell you, I am not feudal at all. I think that the girl can not only be the emperor of China, but also unify the universe, reign over all the land where the sun and moon shine and the rivers flow, and become the co-lord of the world. ”